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HIS name is probably not John, and I’m rea sonably certain he’s not from Cincinnati.

I only know that “John” – the title character in the upcoming HBO series “John from Cincinnati” – is one of the most intriguing characters I’ve come across in a lifetime of watching too much TV.

Played by Austin Nichols, this “John” has a personality like a blank chalkboard, but it’s clear (well, sort of) that his arrival in a southern California surfing community signals that big changes are in the wind for the Yost family – a clan of surfing legends who don’t get along.

Why tell you about this now, when this series does not premiere until June 10 (following the series finale of “The Sopranos“)?

Because I just watched a preview DVD of the first three episodes of “John from Cincinnati” and I loved it so much that I couldn’t keep it to myself.

This is the series that writer/producer David Milch has been working on ever since the rug was pulled out from under his previous HBO series, “Deadwood.” Kem Nunn, author of surfing novels such as “Tapping the Source” and “Tijuana Straits,” is the co-creator of “John” – but Milch’s fingerprints are all over this show.

For one thing (“Deadwood” fans are going to love this), Milch’s use of profanity is just as prolific here as it was in his last show.

In addition, “Deadwood” fans will be delighted to see various “Deadwood” cast members in new, contemporary roles – including “Ellsworth” (Jim Beaver), “Charlie Utter” (Dayton Callie) and “Francis Wolcott” (Garret Dillahunt). However, “John from Cincinnati” derives a great deal of its quality from a whole new cast, all of whom exceed expectations.

Bruce Greenwood and Rebecca De Mornay are the heads of the Yost family and Brian Van Holt plays their grown son – a surfing-star-turned-drug addict.

Luke Perry plays an unscrupulous surfing promoter, Luis Guzman plays a motel manager and Ed O’Neill plays an ex-cop and friend of the family who sometimes acts as a surrogate dad for the youngest Yost – 13-year-old Shaun.

Shaun is a surfing prodigy who is being played by a real-life one – Greyson Fletcher – a fourth generation surfer from San Clemente, Calif.

With no acting credits to his name, Fletcher has a look that only an authentic California beach kid could attain. And he has “star” written all over him.

He makes himself right at home on “John from Cincinnati,” which is, if nothing else, a show about California, “where the sun hits the water and the mountains meet the sand” (thank you, Neil Young).